1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device to increase the comfort and quality of the small arms (generic handgun, rifle, crossbow, or any other throwing/launching device using passive projectiles) usage which provides better target visualization and analysis, more accurate firing at longer range, less accuracy-disturbing recoil, less shock, and powder contamination exposing the shooter to minimal enemy fire by using remote visualization and gun-holder extenders, or installing the gun on a remote controlled device. It is equipped with a set of target visualization and analysis devices showing the image remotely and in the shooter's goggles, giving a multidimensional gun-view used in accurately aiming, that makes handguns as accurate as rifles for distances under 1 km, and rifles up to 3 km dependent on ammunition type. It extends the practical usage of the ballistic thrower/launchers up to 90% of the safety paraboloid.
It has an auxiliary gun support device that smoothes the recoil, and cancels the recoil induced gun's rotational moment, during the bullet acceleration in the barrel. The device also collects the fire, powder, and used cartridge cases making the gun use more comfortable. Based on a range tinder, weather local measurement and ballistic data a firing angle correction is applied, in order to make the bullet reach the aimed spot.
The device may be installed in a remote location and be remote controlled or may be transported near the target by light, small moving platforms. Optionally it may be built with pattern analysis and firing authorization preventing friendly fire. The device is compact, easy to dismantle, reinstall and is easily deployed. The calibration of each individual gun is made using a specialized target with ballistics multi-parameter measurement capability, and by a specialized balancing system in order to position correctly the center of mass.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Policemen and other law enforcement personnel often encounter violent offenders, who carry pistols, rifles and other weapons and plenty ammunition. In addition, military operations often occur in urban areas requiring soldiers to patrol towns and cities. During patrol police and military personnel often encounter enemy fire and must take cover behind cars, houses, buildings and fire their weapons at close or medium range around such structures which often obliterate a clear, linear view of the target.
In such instances it is advantageous to have a weapon which will increase visibility around shielding objects, that is, the ability to fire a weapon accurately around the corner of a building or other obstacle without exposure in a most comfortable seamless manner, intending to deny target's aggressive actions, in a less lethal mode assured by its high firing accuracy.
Guns and ballistics are among the most studied and largely known in depth domains, therefore I will only describe at the basic level the elements this patent aims to improve.
FIG. 1 shows in a schematic view the actual details of the physics of a handgun firing. The hand 101 is represented up to the wrist, in spite of some contribution to the moment of inertia given by the arm up to the elbow. It shows the magazine, inside the grip, 102, loaded up to the top with ammunition, 104-105, from where the last cartridge, 103 is missing because the first cartridge 108 was loaded in the tube and all ammo was incrementally advanced towards the barrel 109. In that position the finger 107 is pressing the trigger 106 and is initiating the chemical reaction in the propellant. Commonly, the cartridge contains a propellant, a case and a bullet that is usually made of a solid mass uniformly distributed with known aerodynamics. The case of “dum-dum” munitions containing explosives and penetrators is ignored for these calculations.
After the cartridge is triggered, the gunpowder burns, building up pressure 121 behind the bullet 108, that starts moving and accelerating into the tube, driven by a continuously varying force that is given by the pressure multiplied by the barrel cross section. At one end the pressure acts on the bullet, accelerating it, and at the other end it acts on the bottom of the firing chamber generating the recoil force. All the fine details that are present in this process, as spinning, bouncing, forward gas leakage, gas cushion oscillations, gun's eigenmodes and deformations are ignored for simplicity reasons and because the present patent does not bring any improvement to those ignored effects. At the end of the bullet's acceleration process, that takes a little bit more than the barrel length's l0 to the bullet flies out with the speed v0. Considering the acceleration process uniform (with the same acceleration a along the barrel's axis) for simplicity reasons, we may calculate the average force acting on the bullet and on the gun creating its recoil.
Formulas used to describe this process are:
                                          a            =                                          v                0                2                                            2                ⁢                                                                  ⁢                                  l                  0                                                              ,                                    →              F                        =                                                            m                  b                                ⁢                a                            =                                                m                  b                                ⁢                                                      v                    0                    2                                                        2                    ⁢                                                                                  ⁢                                          l                      0                                                                                                    ,                                                                                                                →                      t                                        =                                                                  l                        0                                                                    v                        0                                                                              ;                                →                M                            =                                                                    F                    r                                    ⁡                                      (                                                                  F                        r                                            =                                              -                        F                                                              )                                                  ×                                  b                  r                                                      ;                          ⁢                                  ⁢                  Δα          =                                    ω              ⁢                                                          ⁢              t                        =                                                            M                  I                                ⁢                t                            =                                                                    m                    b                                    ⁢                                                            v                      0                      2                                                              2                      ⁢                                                                                          ⁢                                              l                        0                                                                              ⁢                                                            l                      0                                                              v                      0                                                        ×                                                            b                      r                                        I                                                  =                                                                                                                              m                          b                                                ⁢                                                  v                          0                                                                    2                                        ×                                                                  b                        r                                            I                                                        =                                                            I                      b                                        ×                                                                  b                        r                                                                    2                        ⁢                                                                                                  ⁢                        I                                                                                                                                ⁢                                  ⁢        and                            (                  Eq          .                                          ⁢          1                )                                I        =                              ∫            Handgun                    ⁢                                    ρ              ⁡                              (                r                )                                      ⁢                          r              2                        ⁢                                                  ⁢                          ⅆ              V                                                          (                  Eq          .                                          ⁢          2                )            where:a is the calculated average acceleration of the bullet,v0 113, is the bullet's velocity at the gun's barrel exit,l0 115, is the length of the gun barrel,mb is the bullet's 110, 111 masst is the acceleration time inside the gun barrelMr 125 is the torque in the arm that acts in vertical and horizontal directionsFr 123, is the recoil force in the gun that creates the torquebr, 124 is the torque's arm and has a vertical and horizontal componentΔα, 117 is the angle deviation of the gun's barrel axes when the bullet leaves the gun, having a vertical component and a slight horizontal component created by the mass difference between the hand 101 mass on one side and the fingers 107 mass on the opposite side of the gun's handler 102.ω is the gun's angular average speed,Ib is the bullet impulse andI is the Moment of Inertia of the hand-gun assembly, calculating by integration of the mass densityρ(r) multiplied by radius r squared, in all the volume of the active part of the body (the hand, the wrist, the arm, etc.) and the gun, according Eq. 2. The weighting coefficients have been omitted for simplicity reasons, as well as body-hand response functions.
A sample of calculation is given in the Table 1 below:
TABLE 1Gunl0 = 4″ =Mgun = 2 kgbr = 5 cmparameters10 cmBullet'sMb = 50 gMcartridge = 250 gparametersGun-bulletv0 = 250 m/s =parameters820 ft/sHandMhand = 5 kgρ = 1 g/ccparametersCalculatedI = 1 kgm2Ib = 1.25 kg m/st = 0.4 msparametersa =F = 15,625NMr = 781,25 Nmω = 7,812.5312,500 m/s2rad/s ==Δα= 0.078 rad =4,476.233 grd/s4.48 grd
The force is not something to withstand, being by a factor of 20 bigger than an average man's body weight for a 50 g bullet and only by a factor of 2 times bigger, for a 5 g bullet, but with a duration of only ¼ ms, therefore the gun switches the position by 1-10 degrees on average, depending on ammunition during the internal ballistics phase. The nominal amplitude of gun rotation may be as high as 30 degrees, due to supplementary muzzle recoil and inertial forces and the reaction forces involved in stopping the gun rotation. The recoil speed of a gun is in the range of few m/s, depending on the masses (bullet, cartridge) involved. Has to be said also, that a 50 g handgun bullet is a rare case for special bullets made of DU, gold, tungsten or combinations and propelled with fast explosives; the average handgun bullet's mass is usually in the range of 5-10 grams using subsonic speeds, and very rarely ultrasonic speeds.
FIG. 3A shows transonic speed domain is very heterogeneous from the point of view of the drag force, driving to instabilities and to a hard estimation of external ballistics, therefore is seldom used. In fact if the bullet's speed is a little bit over 1 Mach the advantage is immediately lost, but the propellant mass and bullet's noise is increasing accordingly. The efficient use of ultrasonic bullets is over 1.8 Mach up to 3 Mach, and that is mainly obtained in rifles and guns with long barrel, for which the center of mass corrections we envisage for handguns are not so drastic as for handguns and all the rest of correction, and adjustments remain in place.
In general practice the gun deflects by few degrees on vertical (supposing normal shooting position) about ¼ of that range on horizontal towards the interior of the hand.
The skill in aiming well is gained by practice that teaches the shooter how to compensate for these effects. Number of cartridges in the gun loader modifies the moment of Inertia and as consequence the deflection angle and that is yet another accommodation the shooter has to consider and overcome. These abetments from the optical aiming direction are inside acceptable limits for short range applications under 100 ft, but makes the handgun unpractical at higher distances, in spite of the fact that the bullet may fly up to 2 Km, having enough energy left after traveling a distance greater than 500 m. Of course target gun accommodation is required.
The table 2 gives the flying distances for various types of ammunition from US government firing tables:
TABLE 2Maximum firing range for handguns with various cartridgesCartridgeMax Range (yds).22 RF (40 gr)1530.223 (M193)3390.223 (M855)3760243 (100 gr)4750.264 Win (140)51307 mm Mag (175 gr)5420.30-30 (170 gr)2490.308 (M80)4480.308W (M118)578030-06 (180 gr)532030 M2 Ball350012 ga Slug1200.300W Mag (200 gr)59309 mm M8821970.38SPL + P (158 gr)1780.357 (158gr)1950.45ACP M1911 (230 gr)1850.40S&W (180 gr)1800375H&H (270 gr)3370.45-70 (500 gr)3220.458W (500 gr)3620.50 BMG AP M26670M903 SLAP8700120 mm M829 APDS113,000 @ 55°
It is seen as the weakest actual guns deliver a significant hit over 1 km, and if accurately used it may accomplish the concept that the most important fact is momentary enemy's action denial, not enemy killing, because in the future it may become a reliable ally.
This effect makes that if initially aiming on initial direction 112, alter pressing the trigger 105 the gun rotates making the moving bullet 110 scratch the lower part of the barrel, while leaking hot gases forward, making an accelerated differential wear, on those sides, and when the bullet leaves 111 the firing tube 109 has the speed 113 pointed after a direction different by Δα 117 from the initial direction 112.
The firing range continuous observation is further made impossible by the burning powder escaping from the end of the barrel 116, forming the flare, and the inertial rotation of the handgun due to its recoil that sets off the aiming visualization direction and independent observer is needed.
Another unpleasant incident during firing a handgun is the release of hot gases from the firing chamber 119, very dangerous for older models of handguns. The noise and chemical pollution are another few inconvenient of the actual handguns.
The most common shooting recommendation is to hold strongly the gun in hand, far from the face, but that is not possible in all fighting environments. The use of the actual aiming devices is a hazardous operation in an active battlefield because it requires that a large part of the shooter body to be exposed to enemy fire while aiming. For the small handguns the wind deflection and “Magnus effect” due to bullet's spinning in cross-wing is usually ignored due to other larger inaccuracy of the whole process, but when this handicap is eliminated using the invented accessories, these corrections will become important, and it is supposed to be performed.
The conventional methods and military practice for hand-gun shooting require a significant amount of labor intensive activity with high hazard and are many times of questionable quality and questionable result compared with the initial desired planned outcome. This process is time consuming and poses a significant impediment to shooter health's, in terms of safety hazards. This process is also a problem in that many people are exposed to potentially harmful chemical substances, used in propellant (gun-powder) manufacturing that inhaled in small amounts drive to brain and metabolic disorders and other undesired self-exposure to various hazards.
Typically, one or more people have to work together to assure the quality of the desired outcome.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,552,557 B1 discloses a method to adapt a handgun to shoot around the corners with minimal shooter's exposure made of a pivotable shoulder stock for use in combination with a handgun that includes a mirror and allows the user to aim and fire an equipped laser handgun around the corner of a building or other obstacle. The user is able to fire with relative accuracy from behind a building or other obstacle using the mirror attached to the shoulder stock. The mirror can be adjustably positioned for viewing in order to tire the handgun at about a ninety-degree (90°) angle in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The mirror can be revolved to a downward posture when firing the handgun in a linear direction similar to a rifle or for storage purposes. The pivotal shoulder stock is relatively simple to operate and can be quickly adjusted by latching the second section against the first section for use as a hand weapon rather than being shoulder fired. One weapon of choice is a pistol mount in the form of a shoulder stock having an attached mirror. Such a device is the Israeli Corner Shot™, which utilizes a color video monitor, folding stock and various other accessories.
Due to the many high-tech electronic components employed, the price of the Israeli Corner Shot™ is often unaffordable for many small police departments. Repair and service can also make the Israeli Corner Shot™ impractical. Thus, based on the needs and budgets of law enforcement departments, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a pivotal shoulder stock for a standard handgun having a laser-aiming device. FIG. 2G shows a top, rear, right side perspective view of a pivotal shoulder stock of the invention with the handgun 60 section rotated counterclockwise as viewed downwardly from the front approximately sixty degrees (60°) with the handgun and laser exploded there from, in order to better understand its operation, turning now to the drawings, preferred shoulder stock 264 as seen in FIG. 2G having handgun section 274, first shoulder section 275 and second shoulder section 277. Second shoulder section 277 is in linear alignment with and pivotably joined to first shoulder section 275 by attached hinge 278 and is seen locked in place by rotating latch 279 and latch pins 276, 286. As seen in FIG. 2G, second shoulder section 277 can be pivoted (folded) against first shoulder section 275 and latch 279 rotated to contact latch pin 276 to maintain shoulder stock 264 in a shortened posture. Second shoulder section 277 is shown unfolded and fully extended whereby latch 279 can be pivoted to contact latch pin 286 to maintain shoulder stock 264 in this extended posture. First shoulder section 275 and second shoulder section 277 are preferably formed from generally planar metal such as aluminum although steel or other suitable composites or polymeric materials could likewise be used. The weight of shoulder stock 264 is reduced by the series of openings shown therein. Second shoulder section 277 includes pin opening for receiving latch pin 286 when second shoulder section 277 is folded against first shoulder section 275. F handgun section 274 is shown in FIG. 20 rotated about hinge 273 at an angle of about sixty degrees (60°) from first shoulder section 275 for aiming and firing for example at targets which are located at about sixty degrees (60°), such as around a building, corner or other obstacle. In order to view the target, mirror 268 is provided and is rotatably positioned atop hinge 273 and rotatably affixed to extension 274. Mirror 268 is vertically rotatable about extension 274, which is horizontally rotatable about hinge 273 allowing mirror 268 to be rotated to a variety of positions. For aiming handgun 265, mirror 268 as illustrated in the figure is manually positioned at different angles as desired depending on the exact alignment of handgun section 274 relative to first shoulder section 275. Second shoulder section 277 may be positioned against the user's shoulder (not shown) during use of a handgun such as handgun 265 shown with laser device 267.
The pivotal connection of first shoulder section 275 and handgun section 274 has circular crank and disk 273. Disk 280, hinge 273 and lucking pin is selectively positioned within handgun's 265 sleeve on first shoulder section of 274 and can be inserted through one of a plurality of pin apertures in disk 280 rigidly affixed to handgun section 274 such as by welding or the like. By manual operation of locking pin linkage, which includes finger tab 265, linkage rod, L-shaped pin lever, a coil spring and locking pin, can be released for pivoting relative to first shoulder section 275. In operation, the user (not shown) depresses finger tab thereby pulling linkage rod causing pin lever to rotate thus extending coil spring and raising and disengaging locking pin from pin aperture in disk 280. Shoulder stock 264 can also be adjusted to a linear configuration and latched in place by latch 279 and latch pin 286 for using handgun 265 like a rifle. In this position mirror 26K is rotated about extension to a downward posture adjusted as required to a proper length for tiring purposes. Trigger mechanism 269, 266 includes stock trigger 269 pivotably affixed to first shoulder section 275 by trigger axle. Trigger spring is a conventional coil spring affixed to stock trigger 269, which includes rod opening for reception of the proximal end of first rod 270. First rod 270 has an L-shaped proximal end, which passes through stock trigger 269. First rod 270 as seen is configured having a bent distal end, which passes through one of selected crank apertures 271 in the crank and is preferably formed from a rigid steel as is second rod 272 which is connected to magnetic connector having permanent magnet therein. By employing magnetic connector a user in the field can easily connect, adjust or remove second rod 272 from crank and trigger lever 265 which contacts trigger 266 of handgun 265. A conventional eyehook is affixed to handgun section 274 for maintaining second rod 273 relative thereto.
This device, and the Israeli “corner shot” device have the disadvantage or being too complicated for being successfully used in the battle field, requiring the operator make many adjustments, and due to many hinges, and articulations that need proper adjustment the firing accuracy is reduced, requiring longer response times. The usage of the mirror is reducing the aiming useful image, is sensitive to dust and misalignments, while the electronic camera and display have to be previously tuned with the handgun, being sensitive to vibrations and gun's recoil, that is amplified by the displacement of weight and inertia moments in the articulated arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,796 describes an automated system for rapidly training operators required to accurately aim an optical instrument at a stationary or moving target. It consists in equipping the optical aiming instrument handled by the trainee with a television camera to which is associated a reticule the optical axis of which is sighted with that of the optical instrument. A device for displaying the images analyzed by the camera and reticule is available to an instructor so that this latter may give useful advice to the trainee during his aiming operations. It does not solve the problem of accurately hitting the target, in real time.
There are many known aiming systems; for example, the aiming systems in the patent US 2010/0077647A1 that can be used to aim any firearm. The aiming systems can comprise a front sight portion having a cross-section with a truncated triangle shape when viewed by an operator aiming the device. The aiming systems can further comprise a rear sight portion including a notch having a truncated triangle shape with a base, a left side, a right side, and an opening that is narrower than the base. The front sight portion is alignable relative to the notch for aiming the device; others are developing recoil suppression devices as the patent US 2010/0071246 A1 that consists in a stock assembly for attachment to the receiver of a shotgun is described. The assembly includes a pistol grip; a stock; a connector tube slidable within a conduit in the stock, the stock and connector being selectively lockable to each other; an attachment member slidable within the tube conduit between fully inserted and fully extended positions; a first elongated connector attached to the attachment member and extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube into attachment with the pistol grip; a second elongated connector extending from the pistol grip into engagement with the receiver, the second member being at an angle to the first member; and a compression spring in the tube conduit urging the attachment member toward its fully extended position.
Other inventors consider that the origin of shooting inaccuracy is due to human body instability and propose ground bases firing supports, as, for example the patent US 2009/0277068 A1 that adds a shooting stabilizer is disclosed having an arm support, a clamp, an optional connection member, one or more optional and securable pivoting means, an optional support leg, and one or more optional affixing means. The shooting stabilizer provides an arm support to stabilize the shooting arm of the shooter when shooting a firearm.
It is known that a good handgun or rifle rest with stop means for respectively releasing and stopping movement of both coarse and fine elevation adjustments and shafts and handles for manipulating the stops as those proposed starting with the U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,268 may improve firing accuracy in side the usable ranges of the firearms. The shafts and handles of the elevating mechanism stops, which are outboard of the hub region of the rest, are Fabricated from hollow tubing to reduce their mass. An adjustable bias in the releasable stop for the coarse elevation adjustment is provided to control manipulation of the is adjustment.
There are many people that believe that better aiming accessories may bring better accuracy, as for example the patent US 2002/0007581 A1 that introduces a firearm accessory modification to a removable or fixed scope mount of a firearm or a removable or fixed top cover of a firearm. The modification consists of strategically located and drilled holes through a removable or fixed scope mount or drilling holes through a mounting block attached to a removable or fixed top cover. Purpose of said drilled holes is to allow the use of conventional pushpin style brass-catchers, pushpin style flashlights, and/or lasers. FIG. 2A shows such an example of “corner shoot” equipped handgun 201, having an range-tinder and aiming device 204 over the gun 201, using the gun's normal aiming rear 209 and front 208 devices mounted on the top of the gun, and using a laser pointer and target illuminating device 202 positioned under the gun. The system of coordinates 210 is given as a reference for gun movement in space. The shooter 206 positions the eye along the upper sighting line 207 using the advanced optic gun sight 204, mounted on a gun adapter 205, and having knobs for ballistics and wind corrections. The bullet's trajectory is along the borehole centerline 211 and has two phases: an internal ballistics from the triggering moment until it leaves the muzzle also called the initial point of the external ballistics.
During the internal ballistics, along the bullet's trajectory inside the gun that takes a time less than 1 ms, a initial recoil is produced and the initial aiming is modified by an angle Aαy 212, that is a rotation upwards due to the torque created by the pressure inside the borehole acting on the end of the hole that is above the center amass, and a rotation Aαz 213 due to the fact that the center of mass is off axis depending on hand grip style and hand consistency, and a backward recoil Δz 214, typically of few mm during the internal ballistic process duration. The linear recoil is irrelevant for accuracy loss but the two rotation movements which may be as high as 5 degrees and variable from round to round is very important and not corrected by the actual systems. That is why the actual handguns are used most frequently under 50 yards, curve F, being possible to use up to 200 yards curve P, 307, as FIG. 3B shows.
High accuracy repetitive shooting, is very difficult and “double-tap” procedures requires long training with the same gun, same ammunition and is mainly due to muzzle deflection produced by the propellant gases release outside the gun barrel, that is even stronger that the gun deflection from initial aiming due to internal ballistics process.
There are various techniques developed to dim this effect, that have both advantages and disadvantages and main developments are:
A flash suppressor mixes air with muzzle gases to reduce muzzle flash.
A brake has surfaces that deflect muzzle gases backward to reduce felt recoil, but increases the acoustic shock by more than 15 dB, bringing it over 160 dB.
A compensator has surfaces that deflect muzzle gases upward to reduce muzzle flip, but reduces the target visibility and makes the shooter inhale the toxic gases and get powdered with gunpowder.
Many muzzle devices combine several of those functions and here you are some examples:
An A1 “birdcage” flash suppressor is just a flash suppressor.
An A2 “half birdcage” flash suppressor is a flash suppressor combined with a compensator.
An AK74 muzzle device combines brake and compensator, but does not reduce flash.
Noise suppressor that reduce the shock wave and sound of the gun as that described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,923 which includes an outer housing, an interior perforated tube located within the outer housing, and spacing between the outer housing and interior perforated tube, being adapted to be mounted on a firearm.
All the above solutions have many disadvantages that have been eliminated by the device according to the present invention, that aims in aligning the recoil direction with the gun's axis only and capture the gases and eliminate in the environment in an ecological friendly manner, reducing the pollution.
The previous shooting methods are limited in range due to practical inaccuracy, and the electronic improvements at such equipment would be little value added with the use of such equipment, which may explain why it has not been adopted for large-scale use, because is increasing the cost and complexity without increasing its performances in the context of poor understanding of the process behind and developing means to correct it.